This invention relates generally to protector plates for studs used in the construction industry and more particularly to protector plates for protecting electrical cables which pass through metal studs.
Behind the wall, wiring often requires routing the cables through the studs which are used to support wallboards. This construction technique has given rise to the development of protector plates as a result of safety problems that have arisen. Specifically, it is found that cables passing through studs at a depth close to the attached wallboard are exposed to accidental penetration caused by the insertion of nails or screws, typically driven into the studs for mounting the wallboards. To solve this problem, metal protector plates are applied to the stud face over the opening through which the wiring or piping passes. These metallic protector plates are effective in preventing the insertion of nails or screws into the stud and effectively eliminate the danger of accidental penetration.
Typically, the previously described problem is most severe when wooden studs are used. As a result, current protector plates are designed for easy application to wooden surfaces. These protector plates are often designed from sheets of metal with nail-like prongs extending therefrom similar to the protector plate disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,240,869 entitled "Cable Protector Plate" and issued Mar. 15, 1966. In applying these protector plates to wooden studs, the protector plate is placed upon the wooden stud at the desired location and then hammered in place causing the nail-like prongs to become imbedded in the wooden surface. This procedure holds the protector plate temporarily upon the wooden stud until the wallboard is mounted thereon whereupon the plate is permanently secured between the two surfaces. This procedure works well for wooden studs. It has now become desirous to utilize these protector plates in steel stud applications. Specifically, the Canadian Electrical Code now calls for the application of protector plates to all studs, including metal studs, that have electrical cables passing therethrough at a distance less than 1 and 1/4 inches from the stud face.
While this requirement poses no problem when wooden studs are involved, the current design of protector plates does not lend itself to easy application to steel studs. Specifically, the nail-like prongs utilized in the current design have the disadvantage of not being able to penetrate the steel stud. As a result, to mount the protector plate on steel studs, screws must be utilized. This procedure has the disadvantage of being time consuming. A further disadvantage of this procedure is the exposure of the wiring to accidental penetration by the insertion of the securing screws into the stud, a problem the protector plate was originally designed to protect against.
To overcome these disadvantages and problems it would be advantageous if a way could be found to secure metal protector plates to steel studs without the use of time consuming procedures or securing hardware such as screws or nails. This would allow for the protection of the behind the wall wiring when steel studs are used in the construction process.